


Just A Little Braver

by EphemeralEch0



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe- No Survival Show, Angst, Bang Chan is a Good Friend, Bang Chan is a Sweetheart, Bullying, Fluff, Friendship, Han Jisung | Han & Lee Felix are Best Friends, Hurt/Comfort, Lee Felix (Stray Kids) is a Sweetheart, OT8
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-14
Updated: 2019-09-23
Packaged: 2020-10-18 01:53:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 17,604
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20631149
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EphemeralEch0/pseuds/EphemeralEch0
Summary: Coming to Korea to become a trainee had long been a fantasy of Felix’s, a dream he'd barely let himself dwell on- a dream that had finally, impossibly, come true.However, Felix quickly finds it becomes his worst nightmare, and Felix’s bravery and inner strength is tested again and again as he navigates his new life away from everything and everyone he’s ever known- until a blooming friendship with three boys starts to lead to an exciting chance, and a new life he had previously thought impossible in Korea.Will his dream fail? Or will his bravery pay off?Inspired by Felix's motto of "Just be a little brave."





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi!
> 
> This is a fic I wrote a very long time ago, but I'm going to keep it up purely to remind myself of how far I've come, and edit it a little to keep up with... recent events. This is very obviously fiction, and it is in no way a representation of real life or Felix's real-life debut story! I took a lot of artistic liberties, but I hope despite them you can enjoy it anyway, and suspend your disbelief for a little while... happy reading!
> 
> Edit 11.09.20- I've edited this to completely remove KWJ.

……………

“Just a little braver,” Felix breathed.

He tried not to look behind him, back at his parents and sisters, who were undoubtedly still waving at him tearily. Eyes on the plane, he reminded himself. He pushed himself forward, step after step, one shaky foot at a time, until he was stood outside in the December chill, the huge plane towering over him, taking his breath away.

_T__his is your last chance to back out, _a small voice in the back of his head reminded him. But Felix didn’t want to back out. Excitement and nerves and dread mixed into icy fear in his gut- _Just a little braver._

Felix took a deep breath in and a slow one out. He had never been out of the country before, never been away from his parents for more than a few days, and now he was preparing to move halfway around the world. Permanently. He was as terrified and astounded he was even considering doing this as he was determined to grab this chance by the horns and never let go, to make something of himself and make his parents proud.

His world had changed the moment he’d received that fateful email- the moment he realised the competition he’d entered as a long shot had given him an impossible chance, that his lifetime of dancing and singing for fun had paid off. The moment he realised that maybe his dreams didn’t have to be dreams after all. 

Felix smiled numbly at the flight attendant and made his way to his seat on shaky legs._ Just a little braver_, he thought, as he watched the ground fall away as his new life began.

……………

_Just a little braver…_ _That was _much_ easier said than done_, Felix thought. Here he was, stood awkwardly in front of a class full of more experienced trainees who he couldn’t communicate with at all, all of whom were sizing him up, carefully scrutinising his every feature and flaw. He felt their eyes on his body and couldn’t help but feel self-conscious. He wasn’t the best looking, nor the most muscly or skinny, and he definitely wasn’t the best dancer ever, but he wanted to be. He would be one day. He vowed to work his butt off until he got there. Wouldn’t that be enough?

It was all he could do to avoid playing with his hands or hiding behind the teacher. She was still speaking about him, he noticed- he couldn’t really understand much of what she was saying, or any of it really.

The trainees started clapping, and Felix took this as his cue to sit down. He walked with more confidence than he felt, or at least he tried to, but he suspected the others could see through his façade. Every step felt shaky and fake. They must have all been where he was once, though, right?

Felix sat down in the nearest empty spot, next to a kind looking boy, who looked only a little older than him with chubby cheeks and thin eyes. As he turned around to sit down, however, he saw the boy out of the corner of his eye as he quickly scooted away closer to his friends, whispering and giggling to them. Felix pretended to ignore him as his cheeks turned red, hot embarrassment flooding his system. _It’s probably nothing. Just be braver._

Another boy on his other side tried to talk to him. It sounded innocent enough out of context, but the smirk on his face and giggles coming from other students made Felix’s stomach turn and his throat burn with carefully suppressed tears.

Felix knew what an insult sounded like in any language.

Felix stuttered out a basic apology in Korean and said he couldn’t understand yet. There were a few more giggles, but no one bothered him after that.

He took a deep breath and turned back to the front to pay attention to the teacher.

……………

From then on, it just got worse and worse. The language barrier was a problem in and of itself, but that was one Felix had anticipated. He was proud to say he was learning fast though, with help from a JYP tutor. She was excellent at ingraining different vocabulary and grammar forms into his head, and he was really grateful to her; it meant he could communicate a lot more with his peers and understand a lot more what they’re saying to him.

But there lied the problem.

The other trainees.

Of course, Felix didn’t turn up and just expect to be liked, to make friends immediately, but he really hadn’t anticipated it being this difficult. One particular group of three or four boys seemed to lead the class in terms of opinions, and everyone just seemed to copy them, following them blindly.

So, when they decided they wanted nothing to do with him, for no reason Felix could discern, the rest of the class turned their back on him too- Felix was always last chosen to be in dance teams, no one spoke a word to him, except for hissed insults he heard and understood but always seemed to come from no-one, and he definitely didn’t have a single person he could call a friend.

Felix was okay with this, though. It really wasn’t that bad. Sure, Felix had always been a social person, and some company would be nice from time to time, really nice even, but at least he got to focus more on his dancing and training. He really had improved a lot since coming to Korea; his dances seeming somehow bigger, and more energised and powerful, yet also graceful and soft at times when he needed to be.

Yet it never seemed to be enough. The other students always called him out on any mistakes, laughing sometimes if he got something hilariously wrong, albeit quieter so the teacher wouldn’t call them out on it.

Maybe the teacher pretended not to hear. But Felix couldn’t. It made his cheeks heat up every time; he knew he wasn’t as good as them, that he wasn’t good enough to be here, but did they have to shove it in his face all the time?

_Maybe if you were a better dancer, more people would like you_, he thought suddenly, as he left the studio after a class.

Something in Felix changed, after that. Hopelessness and depression turned to a fire in the pit of his gut and determination which fueled him more than sleep and food ever had- he now spent almost every evening in the practise room, just going over the same routines and choreography again and again and again and again, until it was as close to perfect as he could get it. Sometimes he’d skip breakfast to get there early, or dinner because he stayed too late, or he’d fall asleep as soon as he got home even if he did leave early.

And even then, the next day he’d be back again, picking out any flaws he could find. It was difficult without anyone there giving feedback as he experimented, but he started to video himself on his phone to see any flaws or what could look better. And it worked! His teacher started praising him on his creativity and fast progress, and Felix felt proud when he danced in front of the class and got nothing wrong.

It didn’t matter that he was only getting about four hours of sleep a night on a good night. It didn’t matter Felix was doing great. He was doing what he came here to do, and more than that, he was _excelling_.

Yet it _still_ didn’t seem enough for the other students.

In fact,

things got even worse.

As Felix was praised more and more by the teacher, Felix went from ostracised and alone to completely hated. He couldn’t pin point the exact time that everything changed, but no longer was he ignored- he was pushed and bumped into as he walked along the corridors, people whispered insults in his ear as he passed, and one time he went to go and grab his stuff to find his backpack had been ripped open and the contents strewn across the floor.

Throat and eyes burning, Felix had cleared it up as fast as he could, tears blurring his vision. He yanked it shut and slumped against the floor.

He was starting to feel like he’d never fit in.

He didn't feel brave at all.

……………

But it still got worse somehow.

“How did you do that, huh? How come you always get praise and attention when you’re the worst one here?”

Felix didn’t answer and the boy shoved him into the wall again. The hands gripping onto his shoulders dug in painfully. Felix couldn’t help but cry out- he’d definitely have bruises there tomorrow.

Three boys were crowded around him, all of them wearing matching faces of disgust and anger.

“Answer me!” The boy yelled again, pulling him closer to him, away from the wall. Felix's spine arched and the back of his trainers left the floor as he was yanked towards the taller boy's face.

“I- I don’t know!” Felix yelled desperately.

The boy’s mouth twisted into a frown. “Wrong answer, loser.”

Felix’s back slammed into the wall again, and the crumbled to the floor.

This quickly became the norm- the boys would corner him in the dark JYP corridors after practises, sometimes even before, and Felix almost always walked away with a plethora of new bruises. Sometimes they just hit him around a little bit, humiliated him and left handprints in his skin, and other times they would yell and curse at him as they did.

It made it hurt even more just with the added weight in his heart.

Everything they’d been saying was true- he really didn’t deserve to be here, but he couldn’t go home and give up like they wanted to. He had to make his parents proud, and this was his dream. It didn’t matter how much they made his life here hell, he was determined to make it.

He had to make it...

……………

Felix’s chest felt tense.

Today again, Felix had been praised in his mid- assessment, while some of the other boys had been given some improvements to make. Felix could see the stormy faces and glowers sent his way and couldn’t help the way his heart rate spiked. He was definitely going to come away with a few more bruises tonight, he just knew.

He didn’t realised just how angry they were until the break.

Felix had escaped down the hall to the water fountain to grab a drink, and the others must’ve seen this as an opportunity, away from the teacher’s eyes.

A hand grabbed his collar from behind.

“You won’t get away with this,” the boy hissed. He pulled Felix so close on his face that spit landed on his cheek when he spoke, and Felix could see nothing but the hatred in their faces. “You’re safe for now, but the moment this class is over, I promise you, you’ll regret it. You’ll regret not leaving when I gave you the chance.”

Felix could do nothing but stare. Silence filled the corridor, tense and electric, until the teacher’s voice came floating down the hall.

“Two minutes left, hurry up!”

The boys stared at him for a few more terrifying seconds, their eyes boring into his brain with hate, before he was thrown none to gently back to his feet, and they stalked off.

Felix made a mental note to stay behind for a while to let them leave, unless he wanted a lot more bruises for tomorrow.

……………

_Just a little braver... Just a little braver…_

Felix took deep, calming breaths as he crept along the alleyway as quickly and as quietly as he could, turning is mind away from the threats hissed at him in the training again and the burn in his shoulder where he had collided with the wall. His bruises hadn’t quite healed from last time, and there were still some sore spots on his back.

Once again, Felix hadn’t understood every word of what they had said, but he knew enough- they wanted him to leave or suffer the consequences. He didn’t deserve to be here anyway- he was talentless compared to them. Felix would never forget the hatred in their faces.

He’d waited nearly an hour after practise, though, that would be enough time for them to get bored and move on this time, right? No way would they still be here... Maybe Felix had just misunderstood them this time…

He had tried to figure out what he could have done wrong today, or even why they could hate him in general, but he honestly couldn’t think of much. Maybe he’d disrespected them accidentally… maybe he spoke wrong, or did something minor that was actually a major faux pas…

The only thing he came up with was his dancing.

Felix dismissed it- he was only being told he was doing well because he was still fairly new, only having been there for a few short months. They just didn’t want to single him out and embarrass him yet, everyone must know that.

He was easily the worst dancer in the class, while everyone else was so incredibly good. Honestly, it felt weird even being put in a class with them. He didn’t deserve to be there, they were right, but he couldn’t bring himself to admit defeat and leave as he probably should. If anything, it made him want to work harder! It was just a bit harder to do that when he was permanently tired, hungry and bruised all over.

The smell of something musty and old reached his nose, but Felix ignored it. He was used to walking through the alleyways home by now. It was scary, and his mind liked to pay tricks on him, making the shadows seem to dance and every sound was louder, a whisper in the quiet becoming a roar. He was constantly on alert, his heart-rate never slowing down until he reached the main street, even though he knew Korea was a relatively safe country. Better safe than sorry, right?

Today especially he was on the lookout, mostly for people he knew. The threats of earlier rang in his ears.

The alleyways were dark and dank, but it was the quickest way to get to his apartment from the dance studios. He’d have to spend an extra ten minutes at least roaming around the rest of the complex to get to a main road, and when he was tired and sweaty and just wanted to get home, it really wasn’t worth it. It just wasn’t worth it. It was the kind of place that his parents wouldn't have liked him walking down... but they didn't have to find out, so it'd be fine, right?

The yellowish light of streetlights around the corner beckoned Felix closer, promising him safety and warmth with their homely glow. He sighed, relieved, as he hurried closer. They must’ve left by now. If they had stayed behind to find him, they’d have caught him by now. He was probably safe. He was bone tired, too, his eyelids slipping shut even as he fought to keep them open, to keep moving, and not even the harsh chill in the air kept him from being able to practically fall asleep walking.

Just as Felix felt his muscles start to de-tense and his heart start beating slower, a sharp tug on his hood pulled Felix backwards several paces. He stumbled wildly as he attempted to stay on his feet and get a glimpse of whoever was behind him.

Felix whirled around to see 3 figures, mostly concealed in darkness, staring back at him._ It was them again…_

“Where are you going?” One taunted, the one in the middle. He took a step forward and Felix froze in fear.

Felix stood still for only a second before the boy snarled in frustration, lunging forward and grabbing Felix by the collar, bringing him close to his face. “I said, where are you going? Or are you too stupid to understand even that.” Spit flew from his lips and landed on Felix’s eyebrow. He could feel it but he daren’t wipe it off, he daren’t move a muscle.

_Just a little braver…_

“N-no, I just.. l-leave me alone!” Felix tried to defend himself.

The boy barked a laugh and pushed Felix to the ground, who cried out as his hands and face collided with the rough gravel. “What if we don’t want to?” He taunted, before kicking Felix harshly in the ribs. Felix groaned.

Another boy- Felix recognised him but couldn’t quite put a finger on his name- stepped forward to do the same, kicking him in the ribs and arm, anywhere he could reach. It was pure agony. Every nerve was on fire, every breath a deep ache, and every single time a foot drove into him it was like time slowed down just for him, to torture him longer. Felix wheezed out a “stop,” each time getting more and more distressed, but he was just ignored. They’d never gone this far before.

They finally gave him a break, smirking as he writhed on the floor to find a comfier position. He soon realised they hadn’t stopped out of the goodness of their hearts, though.

He watched as the last boy grabbed his backpack from where it had fell on the floor, rifling through it. The joke was on him, though, he thought as he coughed wetly- Felix had barely any personal belongings to speak of, let alone ones that were important to him. The only thing in that bag was his sweaty gym clothes.

Except…_ please, don’t find that…_

They boy pulled out a photograph. Felix immediately knew which one it was- it was one of him, his sisters and his parents in Australia, only a few months before he left. They were all smiling and happy.

It was one of the only photos of his whole family he had, and one that was especially important to him as he barely had time to voice call his parents once a week, let alone video call regularly. This photo was the only way he got to see them.

He was here to train, after all. He had to train, had to spend most nights in the practise room practising one dance over and over, barely getting better. He wasn’t good enough yet to slack off.

The trainee held it close to his face, laughing. “Missing your mummy?” He taunted, as the other two gathered around and started howling in laughter too, hurling insults at his family. His sisters. Felix couldn’t understand everything they were saying, but what he did understand made his blood boil. No one got to talk about them like that.

Felix stood up on shaking legs. _Just a little braver!_

“Give it back,” he whispered, trying for the deep voice he found came naturally to him. He sounded… almost intimidating, he was surprised to find.

The boys looked over at him. “What if we don’t want to?” the third trainee asked. He had a weird, nasally voice that grated Felix’s nerves.

“Now.” Felix’s voice shook and he hated it.

“No.” The boy sounded amused as he stepped forward with the photograph.

Felix closed his eyes and took a sharp breath in. “…please…” he tried, as the boys laughed cruelly. Felix’s heart skipped a beat and his muscles were shaking with tension- he was scared.

_Just be braver! _Felix chided himself.

One of them started walking closer to him, getting uncomfortably close and leaning into his face. He was much taller than him. Felix backed away, the sudden, unnerving silence gushing in his ears, until he tripped on a loose rock and narrowly escaped a fall by colliding harshly with a wall behind him, the bruises on his back pulsing as he slid down it.

The boys jeered and threw a few witty insults Felix couldn’t hear, let alone understand, as he ears rang and his vision went blurry.

“Oi, we’re talking to you, loser,” one gritted out, before landing a kick directly at Felix’s ribs. He curled up instinctively, crying out as another kick landed on the exposed flesh of his ribcage on his back.

Felix squirmed and started to sit up, crawling away from the group on his hands and knees as fast as he could. He could feel the rough gravel underneath his palms, heat trickling down his fingertips, but everything seemed dull in comparison to the sharp stinging of his ribcage.

“You should do yourself a favour and leave already. You can’t be kidding yourself that you’ll ever debut, all your doing is putting yourself through unnecessary work and pain. Go back home and give up!” The boy yelled, before kicking Felix back to the ground.

Felix yelped as the ground tilted under him, unable to reach out and steady himself in time. He fell flat on his stomach, his wrist outstretched. Felix wasn’t quick enough to move it before another stomped on it harshly, twisting his foot. A deadly grin decorated his face as Felix yelled, unable to contain how much it hurt.

A voice shattered the silence. “Hey!”

……………


	2. Chapter 2

...............

Felix didn’t recognise the figure striding towards him, but he was so grateful. His head felt funny where he’d hit it on the ground earlier, and then the wall, and his vision was starting to get spotty and blurry, his hands starting to shake. He really didn’t feel so good.

The boys span to face their new opponent, snarling. One of them took a few steps towards the newcomer, who stood blankly in the darkness of the alley, unmoving and frankly intimidating. The bully raised his fist menacingly, but before he could even think about doing anything, a harsh THWACK sounded as a fist collided with his head, knocking him to the ground.

They boy yelped and scrambled away.

The rest of them took one look at the stranger and quickly stood down, yelling frantically and dropping everything as they ran.

Felix kind of wanted to laugh, the situation was so funny and almost cartoonish. Pain prickled through his chest, reminding him he could barely breathe still, so he focused on that first, though with a small smile on his face.

Felix almost wanted to run, too- what if JYP found out he wasn’t good enough and kicked him out, or worse, thought he was making trouble or not getting alone with the other trainees? He’d be a goner for sure! He should get out of here-

Felix tried to move too sharply and a sharp ripple of pain struck his ribs, enough to make him collapse back onto the floor. _Maybe you should stick to slow movements, Felix, _he chided himself_._

“Woah,” the stranger muttered as he knelt close to Felix. “You don’t look so good sunshine.” Felix just groaned as the stranger helped him sit up gently.

Felix looked up at the stranger, now illuminated by the streetlights. He had muscle for days, and his face looked concerned despite his kind of intimidating features as he thumbed the scrapes on Felix’s face gently. Felix couldn’t help but notice his knuckles were bleeding a bit.

“Who are you,” Felix coughed. He focused all of his mind on this one sentence, on all the grammar forms and honorifics. He really didn’t want to be rude accidentally to the man who just saved him.

The man didn’t even stop checking him for injuries as he absentmindedly replied, “Seo Changbin,” though he seemed amused by how polite Felix was being, the corners of his mouth turned up. He pulled away from Felix’s face and yanked up his shirt, ignoring Felix’s feeble protests in both English and Korean.

He seemed very concerned. “Hurts?” He asked in Korean, gingerly racing some of the bruises already forming in the shape of shoe prints. Felix nodded weakly.

Changbin started to say something else, and Felix’s mind raced as he tried to catch any words he could understand, but he just couldn’t. He stuttered out a shaky apology.

The man struggled for words for a minute, but eventually replied in English. “You want go to the hospital?”

Felix shook his head strongly. He wasn’t sure how expensive it would be, but he had little to no money, so it would almost definitely be too much.

Changbin sighed. “Okay. I can help you,” he said, before standing up.

He grabbed Felix’s bag and the photograph with no hint of judgement, sliding it carefully inside before smoothly zipping it shut and slinging it over his shoulder. He gingerly helped Felix to his feet. “Let's go to my dorm room- I have medicine there.”

Felix nodded and followed the older man, struggling to keep up with the pace the older man was walking at as it was brutal on his ribs. Every step sent a shockwave of pain up his body. Eventually, the elder noticed Felix lagging behind and slowed down, sliding an arm around his middle to help him walk. Felix blushed, embarrassed at needing help from a near stranger, but it really did help, so he couldn’t complain. His head was starting to feel a bit fuzzy…

They walked through winding corridors, the backpack bouncing on Changbin’s shoulder, until they reached a room. “3RACHA,” a sign on the door proclaimed in the Korean alphabet, and Felix was briefly proud at himself for being able to read it without too much trouble, even when this lightheaded. His studying must be paying off.

Changbin inputs a code that Felix is suddenly too tired to pay attention to, and the door swings open. Felix took no more than one step into the room before his vision went black and he felt himself falling, three pairs of hands rushing to catch him.

Before he knew it, Felix was laying on a couch as he others had a frantic conversation above him. He only caught a few words. “Hurt badly… speaks English… trainees…” Changbin was explaining and the other two were listening with wide eyes, as one grabbed a green box off the wall and the other started asking rapid fire questions, which Changbin replied to with one or two words at a time. He went over to the sink and started washing his hands off.

“Hey, are you alright?” The one holding the green box asked in English, in such a familiar accent that Felix briefly thought he was hallucinating. Felix contemplated sitting up, but even moving his head made him feel woozy again so he decided against it, quietly mumbling a no.

“Where does it hurt, buddy,” he asked again, opening packets of what looks like antiseptic wipes.

“Face,” Felix mumbled, “ribs, hands, I think my wrist…” The man nodded and started dabbing at the cuts on Felix’s face with antiseptic, translating to the others and apologising softly when Felix hisses. 

Changbin said something else to the other two, and Felix felt his shirt being pulled up again. He didn't even bother trying to fight it this time, too tired to do much of anything.

“He definitely hasn’t been eating enough,” One of the boys says quietly in Korean, a boy with a handsome face and wide eyes and puffy cheeks like a squirrel. Felix can’t help but wonder if that’s true… he supposed he had been prioritising practise over everything even eating and sleeping sometimes, but it wasn’t that bad, was it?

“What’s your name, mate,” the fellow Australian asked kindly, smiling at him as he pulled down his shirt, ignoring the protests of the other two, and helped him sit upright, offering him a glass of water. Felix hadn’t even notice him go and get it.

“Felix.”

“Well, Felix, my name is Chan, this is Jisung,” the other unknown boy waved happily, “and Changbin is the one who found you.”

Felix nodded and quietly whispered a “hello” in Korean, still a little self-conscious of his accent but wanting to be polite. None of the three boys seem to mind his accent, though, as they smiled blindingly at him. “And thank you,” He tacks on the end, turning his head a little to face all of them, hoping they could see how grateful he was. If anything, their smiles just got a little wider.

Seemingly happy with the gravel cuts on his face and hands, Jisung stops attacking him with the wipes he grabbed from Chan and looks at his wrist, picking it up gingerly. “Sorry,” he said in English as Felix hissed in surprise, but Felix waved it away with a small smile of gratitude, just a subtle twist of his lips.

Jisung seemed to understand anyway. He throws an almost blinding grin back, before turning to Changbin, who’s rifling through the first aid kit.

“Changbin, how do you always find the cute ones,” he whined in Korean, and Felix pretended not to understand even as he felt his face go an embarrassing, hot red.

Chan laughed aloud at his expression. “I think he understood that one,” he grinned

Jisung grinned sheepishly, and went back to assessing his throbbing wrist, flexing it this way and that very carefully for a few minutes. He must’ve had some first aid training or something maybe, Felix wondered. He sat there for a few minutes before pronouncing something in Korean and practically running away, dragging a squawking Changbin out of the door with him.

Chan laughed again at Felix’s slightly stunned expression.

“He says your wrist is fine, just a little sprained, and that he’s going to go find some kind of temporary cast to keep it still over the next few days. He also wants chicken and dragged Changbin with him to help carry it.” Felix nodded, grateful for the translation of… whatever just happened.

“I'd also recommend that you don’t use it for a few days, but God knows that probably won’t happen, so just to be careful and limit unnecessary usage,” Chan said gently, voice calming and reassuringly certain. "Also, you definitely need to eat and sleep more, your body is in seriously bad condition. You’re definitely staying here for a few days so we can feed you unhealthy amounts of chicken and make sure you sleep...”

Chan said that like it wasn’t up for debate and was completely ordinary. Seriously, who’s first instinct immediately after seeing an injured teenager they didn’t know is,_ ‘hey, let’s kidnap them for a few days to force them to eat and sleep!' _

Besides, having some weird kid hanging around all the time would surely be a massive, annoying Felix- shaped intrusion in their lives. They couldn't be serious!

Felix shot up immediately, only regretting it slightly as his ribs ached in protest. “What? No! You don’t have to do that! I’m fine, honestly, I don’t want to be a burden.” It was the most he’d spoken since he got here, and honestly even saying just that had made him tired. It was also the first time his accent slipped out, more obvious than it had been in the one-word answers he'd given so far, and Chan seemed to recognise it, as his face lit up like a Christmas tree.

“A fellow Aussie!" He yelled, practically jumping up and down in excitement. "Oh my God, you have to stay now. It’s not often at all I see someone from home all the way over here! Besides, it would be nice to have someone else around here other than the three of us. We have a spare bunk anyway, so…”

Felix thought for moment, searching for any other arguments. “I really, can’t, seriously… I’ve got.. I have training I’ve got to do!” he suddenly thought, his breath speeding up just thinking about how much he’d miss while recovering. “I can’t fall behind, Chan.”

Chan suddenly looked stern, eyebrows creasing. “No, you’ve got to _rest_,” he said gently. “You’ve got the biggest eyebags I’ve ever seen under your eyes, and yes, I can see them under all that concealer. Frankly you look like you haven’t eaten properly for weeks. You need to slow down before you do yourself serious damage or even put yourself permanently out of action.”

Felix sighed. “I don’t want to be a burden…” he said, suddenly sounding sad and unsure as all the fight left his small frame. Chan thought that he never wanted to hear Felix sound like that again.

“Hey, no, you’re not a burden,” he reassured, rubbing his shoulder comfortingly. “We want to take care of you! It’s not like we’re busy… I’ll even talk to the managers myself to get you a few days off, okay, you literally don’t have to worry about anything.”

Felix nodded, still seeming unsure but more open to the idea. “Thanks, Chan..”

“No problem,” he smiled. “So, you are a trainee then, I guessed right. A Dancer?” Felix nodded. “You definitely need to eat and sleep then, man, you look really unhealthy. You need to look after your body for it to do its best.”

Felix drooped his head down guiltily. “Yeah, I know, I’m sorry…” He mumbled. He didn’t mean to, really, he was just so busy all the time.

“Anyway, speaking of taking care of bodies, who did this to you?” Felix’s head sprung up, scrambling to think of an excuse before Chan cut him off. “And don’t say you tripped or something, we know what being beaten up looks like. Was it one of the other trainees?”

Felix sighed and nodded slowly. He’d been caught out. “I’m just not sure what I’ve done to make them hate me so much, but…”

Chan smiled sadly. “Maybe they’re jealous of you or something, especially if you’re new. They must see you as a threat,” he said smartly.

Felix snorted. “Hardly! I’ve pretty much just started, and I can barely understand Korean, only the basics really. I’m no competition to anyone.”

Chan ruffled his hair. “Even if I believed that, which I don’t, I can tell you work hard, and you’re gonna make it big someday. And you’ve got that kind of… dancer’s grace about you, just the way you move. Keep going, okay, don’t let anyone else define your worth.”

“…Thanks, Chan,” Felix said, surprised and touched. He met Chan’s eyes and they shared a moment as they smiled.

Chan broke it, smile turning sad. “I don’t suppose I could persuade you to talk to your dance instructor about, could I?”

Felix shook his head in horror. “No!... How did you know they’re from my dance class, anyway?”

“A hunch,” Chan shrugged. “Binnie said you were in the alleyway outside of the dance block, and dance tends to be the most competitive class anyway, where tensions run the highest. It wasn’t a difficult leap to make.”

“Is this… common?” Felix asked timidly. Chan looked horrified by the thought.

“God, no! The instructor would be disgusted by them if she found out, I promise you. She might even move you to a different group…” Chan trailed off as if he had a thought.

“Nah, that’d be impossible,” Felix dismissed. “The only male dance groups only include people lined up for debut and the one I’m in, the large one for those still training. And I’m definitely not ready for debut, I can barely speak the language just for a start, so… besides, I think moving up would infuriate them even more.”

Chan hummed agreeably, but he still seemed deep in thought, his eyes glassy and far away. When Chan didn’t reply for a few seconds, Felix looked up worriedly.

Just at that second, Jisung and Changbin returned, laden with plastic bags that smelled delicious. “We feast!” Jisung cried in English, plopping the food down on the counter before plopping himself down on the sofa in between Felix and Chan. He looked at Changbin expectantly, with innocently large puppy-dog eyes.

Changbin just rolled his eyes and snorted, getting four plates out and dishing healthy portions of greasy chicken onto each.

Chan ran over to help carry some sauce and side dishes over, and Felix would have done the same if Jisung hadn’t nudged him with his elbow lightly. “You’re _injured_, you shouldn’t _move too much_,” he stage whispered, before winking heavily. Felix decided right there and then that he liked Jisung, as both of them shared a wicked grin.

“How old are you, anyway, Felix” Chan asked, bringing over the last of the sauce and setting it down on the small coffee table in front on the sofa.

“I was born in 2000, so… 17, Korean age,” Felix replied, and Jisung’s eyes lit up.

“What day, what day!?” He asked, practically bouncing in his seat.

Felix eyed him nervously and curiously. “September 15th… why?” Jisung immediately went crazy, yelling something in Korean to Chan and Changbin and dancing around the room.

“He’s one day older than you,” Chan explained exasperatedly, watching amusedly as Changbin was danced circles around. “Changbin’s older than both of you, and I’m older than him, Chan managed to explain over the noise. Jisung came running over a second later.

“Oh my god, can you call me hyung!?” He asked, sitting down and facing Felix. “We’re practically twins!!”

Felix laughed and put his arm around him. “I believe those statements kind of cancel each other out, but I would be honoured to be your twin.” Both boys hugged and started giggling for no identifiable feeling other than the bubbling happiness in their chests.

Changbin groaned as he sat on the armchair opposite them. “Now there’s two of them.” He looked desperately towards Chan.

“They’re like sunshine twins,” he grinned.

Jisung and Felix both turned to face Changbin and took a bite of chicken at the same time, a little sloppily, but it was an improvisation, sue them. Changbin just groaned and covered his face, while Chan started gigging beside Jisung. They were going to have so much with this.

An hour later, when the chicken was finished and conversation was dwindling down, a new rubber splint covering the shoeprint bruise his wrist, Felix couldn’t help but think he was so glad he had got here, with… friends. He felt comfortable. More so than he had this entire time since being in Korea, anyway.

The last few months had been the most terrifying thing to ever happen to him, he thought, but if his motto of ‘just be a little brave’ had brought him all the way here, who knew where it could take him in the future.

Maybe he should keep being brave...

...............


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Thank you for reading this far. Please feel free to leave a comment, every single one makes me day :D  
-Echo

...............

Chan strode towards the office, more than a little angry to be honest with himself. It never should have been allowed to progress to this level. Chan seethed silently. Someone should've looked after the Australian. Besides, everyone knows bullying doesn’t start with beating someone up in an alleyway- Felix must have been at least ostracised, if not outright picked on, for months. 

Chan wished he had managed to get him to open up more, but the younger just seemed so unsure of everything and determined to fight this on his own, when he didn’t have to!

He took a deep breath in and knocked on the door in front of and waited for a moment before the man inside called “Come in!” This was good- this meant he wasn’t busy, or at least not any time soon.

He walked into JYP's office stiffly, closing the door and taking a seat when offered.

“So! Why are you here then, Chan? It’s not very often I see you in here anymore, not since you finalised your potential line-up,” JYP commented.

“That’s part of it,” Chan started cryptically, “but I’m actually here on behalf of a trainee, Felix. He didn’t want to be any trouble, but I think he really needs helping.”

JYP cocked an eyebrow. “What’s the problem?” It wasn’t often the trainees had problems big enough to concern him himself.

“He needs a few days off,” Chan started, and JYP’s eyebrows flew into his hairline. “He has been injured by some other trainees from his dance group, and has badly bruised ribs and a sprained ribs, along with many other cuts and grazes,” Chan continued stiffly.

JYP paused for a moment, looking confused and concerned. “What do you mean, injured by other trainees? He’s being… bullied?”

“Yes, Sir. I don’t have any names, not yet, but they’re from his dance group, and he could probably identify them for you. I’ve only been told about this one incident, but I’m sure the issue must be deeper than just that- after all, bullying starts with means words and exclusion, not beating someone up in an alleyway.”

JYP looked like he was about to explode, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion and he was shaking his head minutely. “Hang on- he got beat up in an alleyway!? How did you find out about this, Chan?”

“He passed out on my couch after Changbin found him being attacked and helped him out.”

JYP looked like he was about to have a stroke.

“Well, he deserves a few days off certainly, tell him he doesn’t have to go to dance or vocal until at least next week on Monday. Is he staying with you for now?” He checked, watching as Chan nodded. “Then, if one of you in the 3RACHA dorm want to stay off to look after him in the next few days, I’ll send a note to your instructors, so just don’t show up.” Chan bowed gratefully.

The CEO paused for a second and his expression turned stormy. “In the meantime, I’m going to have this investigated fully, to find out who attacked him and why no one stopped it earlier… I’ll have to find another dance group to put him in as well...” The older man looked troubled as he continued. “We have a very strict no bullying policy here and haven’t had an incident in years. I’m honestly shocked- imagine the scandal if this got out…”

Chan nodded. He could imagine the headlines- _‘JYP foreign trainee mistreated and bullied- management did nothing to stop it.’_ Chan shuddered.

“Yes, sir... Actually, I had a… proposition, to get Felix into a different practise group,” he said nervously. _No going back now_.

JYP looked intrigued and nodded at him to carry on.

“Well, sir, I wondered if he could join Stray Kids’ line up.” Chan looked worriedly up at the CEO, seeing only his blank, calculating expression. No indication of what he thought of the proposition. Chan continued nevertheless. “I’ve spoken to both his vocal and dance instructors, and they both indicated that even though he’s only been here for months not years, they think he’s more than ready for debut. I’ve watched some videos myself and I think he’s up to scratch, and he would definitely fit in amazingly with the rest of us. The only thing holding him back is his Korean language ability, and I would be more than happy to help him with that, along with his usual tutor.”

JYP nodded, deep in thought. “You’ve put a lot of thought into this… well done, Chan. I’m obliged to give you this, on the condition that he meets and gets along with every member by next Monday, and only then joins your dance and vocal practises. I also want written reports on how he mixes with the team as a person and as a performer, as well as on his Korean language ability, every week for at least a month. Not too long, but just to ease my mind, okay?”

Chan nodded and bowed gratefully. Honestly, he had been worried the answer would be an outright no, a bit of paperwork was nothing... Oh my God, he’d actually pulled this off! JYP must’ve been in a good mood- or maybe he just felt really bad for Felix.

“I’ll expect to hear from you in a few weeks then, Chan. Keep up the good work.”

Chan bowed and left the room before letting out a huge sigh. It may have seemed like a bit overkill, going to the CEO to report bullying, but Chan was worried the instructors would ignore it, as they obviously had done so far, and he knew that JYP would treat it as serious as it was. Felix joining the group was just another excuse to bring this up with JYP himself.

Besides, it was a win-win situation- Chan couldn’t stand for such a sweet kid to be suffering so much, and JYP didn’t want his company to get a reputation for not treating its trainees fairly. It only made sense to fix both of these problems at once.

……………

When Chan re-entered the 3RACHA practise room, he was immediately shushed. “He’s asleep,” Changbin whispered, pointing to where Felix was passed out on the sofa, a fluffy blanket thrown over him. He seemed so peaceful and small… it was almost hard to believe he was the same age as Jisung.

“How did it go?” Jisung asked, saving his work and spinning around on his chair to face him.

“Great, actually,” Chan smiled, grabbing a drink from the side. “I skipped the dance instructor, because he’s obviously oblivious, and went straight to JYP-“

Jisung’s eyebrows flew into his hair and Changbin choked on his cola.

“You WHAT!?” Jisung hissed, hitting Changbin on the back without even turning to look at him. “I know you’re closer to JYP than most of us, having been here fore seven years, but are you serious? You told JYP himself that Felix was being bullied!?”

“Well, yes and no,” Chan said cryptically smirking at their dumbfounded faces. “I also asked about him joining Stray Kids.”

Changbin just looked confused as Jisung’s face slowly lit up with understanding. “Chan, you little… if he joined Stray Kids, he’d join our practises, and we know there’s no bullies there.”

“Well, that’s where I got the idea, but it’s not just that- I spoke to both his dance and vocal instructors and watched some of his practises, and he’s actually amazing, guys. His dance is easily on par with Hyunjin’s, and he has an amazing voice and vocal range. I just know he’ll do so well with us- you’ll see, I promise.”

Chan had never seen Changbin smiling so wide as he recovered from the shock, while Jisung celebrated almost silently. “We get to keep him!” He was whispering over and over, bouncing up and down in his seat with his hands flying dangerously close to Changbin’s head. Chan was just grinning.

He was sure Felix would fit right in with Stray Kids- he just had to show JYP. The others could see for themselves soon enough.

“What did he say exactly? Spare no details,” Changbin threw in, leaning forward in his seat. “Oh my God, he’d fit in perfectly with the others, don’t you think? Chan, you’re a genius!”

Chan smiled. “I’m really glad you think so. You’ll help me?”

Both Jisung and Changbin yelled “YES!” Before looking nervously over to the sleeping boy on the couch, who didn’t even stir. They said it with no hesitation, looking as if he was crazy for thinking they’d ever refuse. They were obviously as smitten with the boy as he was.

Chan grinned. “Deal is, he’s got a week off to heal, in which time we are expected to introduce him to all the other members, and I’ll probably spend some time teaching him more Korean. Those should both be easy enough, seeing as I’m not too busy right now, and most of them come around here all the time. As long as he gets along with everyone, he can join our practises and will train intended for debut with Stray Kids.”

Jisung squealed quietly but happily, hitting Changbin on the arm.

“I have to write weekly reports though,” Chan continued seriously, “proving that he’s getting better at Korean, dance and vocal, and I expect JYP will have high expectations at the next assessment, giving us just over a month to get him up to scratch. From what I’ve seen though, we won’t have a problem.”

Jisung’s grin got even wider, if anything. “I want to help! I’m fairly good at English, so I can probably help you teach him Korean whenever you’re busy. I’m not sure if I could help him improve singing or dancing though, not if he’s as good as you’re hyping him up to be.

It was Chan’s turn to grin. “I’m sure you could help him improve his rap, though, Jisung,” Chan said innocently, watching in amusement as Jisung’s eyes lit up.

“He raps! Oh my God… I can imagine him rapping. He has such a deep voice, that must sound so nice, oh my god-“

“I’d love to help however I can, too” Changbin cut him in excitedly, “even if that’s just doing some of the paperwork for you! The kid’s adorable, really, and I want everything to work out for him. He deserves it!”

Chan nodded thoughtfully, smiling at the younger in thanks. He looked down at the boy still sleeping soundly on the couch, and mentally promised himself that he’d get this young Aussie to debut with them if it killed him. He deserved it.

……………

The next day when Felix awoke, he first noticed the blanket tucked around his shoulders that definitely hadn’t been there when he fell asleep and the bright light filtering through the blinds indicated it was probably somewhere near midday- the longest Felix had slept in a while. He rubbed his eyes and sat up quickly, ignoring the pinch in his ribs as he jostled them too much, no matter how careful he tried to be. He definitely felt leagues better than yesterday, though.

Across the room, he saw Changbin and Chan sat at computers, though he wasn’t sure where Jisung was. He finally asked “hyung, what time is it,” and Chan turned to face him, finally noticing him.

“Felix! You’re awake!” He cried in Korean, untangling his headphones from his head. “Jisung is just at dance practise, he’ll be back soon. It’s about 2pm.”

Felix kind of wanted to laugh- he’d never slept in this late in his life! He must’ve been tired...

He was a little confused at why they were suddenly using Korean, not that he minded too much. He had started it, he supposed. Maybe it was because Changbin didn’t know English well, and they didn’t want to exclude him. Yeah, that must be it.

“Are you hungry?” Chan continued, walking over and opening the fridge. “We only have fried rice left...”

“That’s okay, hyung,” Felix said, walking over to take it out as Chan grabbed four plates out of a cupboard and dished it up. He took some over to Changbin, who was still tapping away on his computer and didn’t even look up as he muttered a distracted “thank you.”

Chan giggled from the couch. “He won’t be good conversation yet, come sit with me.” Felix smiled widely and obeyed, cuddling up closely next to the elder on the sofa, who threw an arm around his shoulders. “Do you want to watch Netflix?” He asked, pointing at a laptop balanced on the coffee table with the website open.

“Sounds good, I like everything except horror,” Felix admitted, and Chan smiled.

“Y’know, you’re way better at Korean than you made out you were yesterday.” Felix blushed bright red at he sudden compliment, his brain taking only a second to switch to his native language. “Oh, thanks,” he said quietly, eyes crinkling as he turned and smiled up at the elder. Chan just reached over to play some kind of an action movie Felix hadn’t seen before, the audio playing in Korean with English subtitles to help him understand.

The two of them passed the afternoon like this, curled up with one another in comfortable silence, only broken when Felix had a question about a grammar point or translation.

“Sorry,” Felix eventually whispered, feeling a bit sheepish. “I’m asking too many questions again.”

Chan smiled at him kindly. “No, not at all! That’s why I put this on actually.” Felix looked at him quizzically. “I’ve been assigned as your temporary Korean tutor,” he explained. “You don’t have to go to dance or vocal practise, you just have to learn Korean with me sometimes. Just while you’re getting better.”

Felix nodded uneasily. “How long for?”

“Until next Monday.”

Felix felt himself go pale. “Won’t I fall behind? Honestly, I’m not that hurt, I would be fine to go back to class way before then-“

Chan cut him off. “What if you get hurt again? You could fall on your wrist and break it, or get attacked again. Then you’d have to spend even longer getting better. It’s safer to just stay here for a bit instead and rest until you’re completely healed.”

Felix sighed, but accepted it. It made sense, he supposed…

_Just a little braver... I won’t fall behind just by looking after myself, _he scolded mentally_. It was only a week, anyway. He could catch up anyway, surely._

“What about you?” He asked aloud.

Chan grinned. “I’ve gotten some a break too, which means I can work on producing for a bit. You’ve done me a favour, I promise.”

Felix smiled, snuggling into Chan a bit more and turning his attention to the movie. If he was honest with himself, he did feel a little better knowing he didn’t have to go back for a week… though he was sure he’d miss dancing. Oh well, he could always practise on his own later in the week, right?

“Besides, I thought you’d be grateful for some time off, so you don’t have to see those bullies again,” Chan suddenly said in English, the sudden language change making his head spin a bit.

“Well, there is that…” Felix admitted. “But I try not to let them interfere with my training.”

“Do they try and get in the way?”

Felix thought for a moment before nodding. “Sometimes. I’m always last chosen for dance groups, they try to give me bruises in difficult places, and at every chance they get they goad me into leaving.”

“Wait, they hurt you regularly?! Give you bruises and that kind of thing?”

Felix looked instantly regretful, like he wanted to put the words back in his mouth. His eyes widened and his mouth shut with a quiet 'click,' like he'd just registered what he'd actually admitted out loud. “No, not really hyung, nothing serious-“

“Not really? Nothing serious?” Chan parroted, looking sad.

“They just… they just puah me around a bit sometimes, when the teacher isn’t looking, or remind me that I’m not good enough and I should leave...”

Chan sighed. “You know they’re just jealous, right?" He said, heart breaking as Felix bit his lip and looked away unsurely. "You don’t deserve any of it, Lix. You definitely are good enough, from the videos I’ve seen of you- in fact, I’d say you’re one of the best dance trainees, despite only being there a few months! They’re intimidated by you and worried you will debut before them, that’s all. They want to drag you down to their level.”

Just at that moment, the dorm’s door opened, and Felix heard several voices float through as they took off their shoes. _Jisung is home_, Felix guessed, _but who’s with him…?_

Felix got his answer not a minute later, as Jisung walked to the kitchen, followed by two others. “Felix, this is Jeongin,” he pointed to a young-looking boy behind him, who smiled, showing off braces in his mouth, “and this is Seungmin.”

Felix smiled at them both, disentangling himself from Chan a bit in embarrassment as he said a polite “hello,” bowing. The other two did the same before Jisung interrupted, whining. “Chan, where’s the leftovers? I thought we had some…”

Chan was now firmly focusing on the movie in front of him and unlikely to answer, so Felix jumped in. “We had some for lunch, but we saved some for you over there. I didn’t know we’d have friends over, though, I’m sorry…” Felix trailed off, looking nervously at the two.

“It’s fine,” Seungmin announced from the seat he’d commandeered at the dining table. “I know you never have any food in your fridge, so I’ve brought you some leftovers to eat and some basic groceries. Like vegetables...” Seungmin trailed off pointedly, pointing at the door. “You lot would die without me,” he mumbled, now fully focused on his phone.

Felix got up to grab the plastic bag he saw nearby and brought it to the table where Jisung started rifling through it. He noticed Jeongin looking at his wrist, but he couldn’t really tell what he was thinking. He looked away when he noticed Felix noticed, and didn’t ask about it, but Felix didn’t know what conclusions he’d drawn. He liked Jeongin, though- even over one conversation he saw how bright and funny and polite he was, even if he was a bit quiet at times.

“Wow, you are way better at Korean than Jisung said,” he had commented at one point, completely out of the blue. Felix couldn’t control his laughter as both Jisung and Seungmin spluttered, and even Chan looked up to see what was going on.

“Thanks,” Felix finally got out over his giggles. “Jisung only heard me speak Korean once and I was tired, obviously I didn’t give a good first impression,” he teased, winking at Jisung.

“Besides, I’m teaching him now,” Chan interjected, sneaking some food off of Jisung’s plate, “so he has to be good.”

“I wanna help to teach him too!” Jisung burst out.

“Ah, so it’ll cancel out,” Jeongin said, completely deadpan, and everyone burst out laughing again as Jisung reached over the table to hit him indignantly. Changbin and Chan silently got plates of food and sat down with them, filling up their table to six. Felix felt somehow more complete.

“Why weren’t you two at practise then,” Seungmin asked nonchalantly, looking pointedly at the two new arrivals. Chan looked surprised.

“I thought Jisung would have told you. JYP has given us a few extra days off to focus on producing new music. Helping Felixie here get better is an added bonus.”

Felix blushed as the attention shifted to him.

“Does your wrist hurt?” Jeongin asked innocently, pointing at the splint.

“No, it’s fine now,” Felix replied, as Jisung snorted.

“It’s sprained, it’s hardly fine. Your ribs took a beating too, how are they feeling today?”

“Better,” Felix mumbled embarrassedly. He didn’t want to make a big deal out of nothing.

Luckily, Changbin seemed to notice his discomfort and started talking about the music he’d been working on, telling everyone he wasn’t sure whether to have it as a group piece or keep it as a 3RACHA piece. The half-hearted bickering between the groups was nice, but hard to focus on, so Felix just ate and tried to keep up with the rapid conversation.

He felt kind of bad, though- it sounded like he was part of the reason Chan and Changbin stayed off, to babysit him. No matter how much Chan said it was a good thing, he couldn’t help but feel bad- he was making everything harder for all of them, after all.

They probably wouldn't let him hang around them for much longer...

Felix shook away the thought, frowning as he realised how his chest ached at the thought. He'd really grown attached in the few days he'd been here, huh.

As he watched Jisung flick as many peas into Changbin's hair as he could, he decided just to make the best of however long he had here.

...............


	4. Chapter 4

Life was like this for a few days- days spent with friends, and making new friends, and only a little bit of crushing guilt. It wasn’t until the third day that Felix realised that at least one person was always staying at the 3RACHA dorms just to look after him, and after that it felt like they were babysitting him. Like they had to be there. Felix had tried to just go back to his own apartment, as lonely and isolated and bare as it was, but every time he tried to bring it up Jisung pouted and begged him to stay, and he was damn weak for his new twin. It was almost unfair.

Eventually, Chan thought that maybe he was missing his apartment and went over there while the younger was sleeping, armed with Felix’s key- but he found something much worse than he was bargaining for.

For a start, it was miles away. Did JYP seriously make him walk all this way and back every day!? Chan almost couldn’t believe it. The apartment itself was on the ground floor and really small, smaller than their shared dorm, with one room acting as a bedroom and living room, a small counter separating the kitchen and a bathroom with just enough room to have a shower head and toilet.

The other shock was how bare the apartment was. The walls were a plain off-white, no posters or even photos decorating it, the furniture basic and not matching colours of grey and varying browns. There were very basic appliances, and one set of utensils. Even the bed had plain white sheets on, with no trinkets or decorations to be seen, and no blankets or cushions, which was what Chan had been hoping to find. Chan even checked the wardrobe to find that Felix had about two other sets of clothes, neither of which would be suitable for winter or summer. Overall, Chan was very worried.

That wasn’t Chan’s main concern, however. His main concern was how the window was smashed in, and the few possessions had been thoroughly destroyed. Picture frames lay face down on the floor, glass shards making the apartment a hazard to navigate, the furniture was torn, and Chan could see the appliances had taken a bashing. Someone had broken in, but nothing had been taken, only destroyed…

Chan started to get a bad feeling about this. Felix’s apartment had been destroyed but not burgled. Chan wondered if it was Felix’s bullies taking it one step further.

Just as Chan was about to leave the room, he spotted a note on the kitchen counter, face down. Chan turned it over and started to read, his stomach dropping as he did.

_Felix,_

_We haven’t seen you in class for a while- maybe you finally took our advice and left for good. Finally realised how talentless you are? It’s for the best, everyone else would have too eventually._

_Your apartment was still unpacked, so we made it a bit easier for you. Now this should fit in a suitcase way easier! You’re honestly welcome. _

_You better hope I never see you again, or our last goodbye will seem like a joke._

The note was unsigned, but Chan just knew it must be from his attackers from last time. Who else could it be?

They were threatening him- again, it seemed. Chan’s blood was boiling. This must have been going on for much longer than Felix had let on.

Chan sighed, backing out of the apartment and locking it, with only the note, the smashed photograph and a pair of Felix’s own pjs as proof of his visit. He would clean it up for him, but he wanted proof of the break in beside the note.

He had to press Felix for more answers. How long had this been going on? Was this the first time they’d physically assaulted him? What were they like with him in his classes? Who was it? Felix would definitely not want to answer these, but Chan needed to know- needed to figure out this mystery of a boy so he was treated properly from now on.

And why was his apartment so bare, Chan suddenly wondered. He remembered it taking him a few weeks for his apartment to be decorated and start feeling like home, but he was pretty sure Felix had been there for a few months and it looked like he had only just moved in still. Maybe he was homesick or something, and Chan vowed he’d fix that, too.

When he got back to his own apartment, minutes later, Felix wasn’t on the couch where he left him.

Chan about had a heart attack.

“Jisung?” He called slowly, panic infusing his limbs and rooting him to the spot temporarily. The boy pulled off one headphone and cocked his head to show he was listening. “Where’s Felix?” He asked, shaking. Jisung turned around and looked panicked for a second before he came to his senses and calmed.

“Oh, don’t worry, he fell asleep on the couch after you left, so I moved him to your bunk, so he’d be more comfortable. He’s stupidly light and stayed asleep even when I carried him, so I imagine he’ll be out for a bit longer.”

Chan calmed down, but he still peeked his head into the dorm room to check on the younger. As Jisung said, he was curled up in his bed, hugging part of the duvet to his chest as he slept, completely innocent to the world for a few hours. Chan felt his heartrate decrease just looking at him and knowing he’s close- he had been so sure for a second that Felix had left and would get attacked again.

When Chan didn’t return to the main living space, Jisung followed him into the room, and saw Chan perching on his bed, re-reading the note.

“Chan? What’s wrong?” He asked, sitting down next to the elder and reading the note passed to him. It took him a second to take it in but understanding flooded his face as he reached the end.

“Ah… they broke into his apartment?”

Chan nodded, sighing deeply.

“This poor boy, what more does he have to go through… this must have been going on for months and he never told anyone. It sounds like a lot of mental and emotional abuse, and we know it’s gotten physical at least once, probably a few times. They wouldn’t pull something like this without being sure he wouldn’t tell on them when he had concrete evidence.” Jisung’s clinical tone suddenly turned to one of barely contained anger. “Little do they know he’s got three hyungs ready to kill for him.” Jisung cracked his knuckles and reread the note one last time.

“I’d say no murder,” Chan said quietly, looking at the figure cradled in his bed, “but I’m tempted to agree with you,” he said darker. Both men were exaggerating, and they knew it, but equally neither would stand for this any longer.

Jisung rubbed Chan’s arm comfortingly. “He’s okay now, and we’ll make sure this doesn’t happen anymore. It’ll all be fine.”

“It’s not fine though, is it!” Chan exploded, stalking into the other room. “This has been going on for months and no one noticed, _no one_ was looking out for him.”

Jisung sighed and followed him, shutting the door behind him to let Felix sleep more, and leaving the note on the kitchen table. He couldn’t bear to look at it anymore.

“Someone’s been poisoning this boy’s head with lies that he’s not good enough for months, when from what I’ve seen, he’s the best trainee they’ve got. It’s pure jealousy, but it’s driven them to this… I want them gone- _they_ don’t deserve to be here.” Chan was seething, pulling at his hair in frustration as he leant his elbows on a desk.

“We’ll talk to Felix, gently, and get him to open up more. We already know he’s not going back to that dance group, so as long as someone stays with him until these people are dealt with, everything’ll be fine, okay? He’ll be fine.” Jisung watched as Chan nodded, still looking distraught.

Just at that moment, the lock turned and Changbin walked in, taking in the scene as Chan didn’t even turn to look at him, still hunched over a desk and carding his hands through his hair.

“Felix’s apartment was broken into,” Jisung explained as Changbin took off his jacket and threw it over his chair. “And we think this abuse has been going on for much longer than Felix let on.”

“Ah,” Changbin returned delicately, as if that explained why Chan looked like he was about ready to tear his own hair out.

“Someone should have been looking out for him,” Chan finally sighed, standing up before collapsing onto the sofa, still tense as a wire. “Someone should have looked after him, made sure he’s happy and healthy and getting on well in this new, foreign environment, because from what I can tell, he wasn’t any of those. And he should have been by now.”

Changbin nodded sympathetically. “I get it… but you’ve done nothing but care for him and make sure he’s okay since you met him, hell, you spoke to JYP himself, the CEO, over the bullying issue. I’m not sure why you’re mad at yourself.”

“Because I should have met him earlier!” Chan exploded again, this time all fight seeming to leave his body as he slouched into the seat. “I should have looked out more for the trainees, especially the foreign ones, just as someone who’s been in their shoes.”

“That’s not your job, Chan,” Jisung chastised gently.

Chan breathed out slowly. “Yeah, I know. But whoever’s job it was, hasn’t done a very good job.”

They sat in silence for a few more minutes, each lost in their own thoughts, before the door creaking open pulled them out of their thoughts.

Felix’s sleepy face peered into the room, drowned in a pair of Chan’s pjs that he’d borrowed with his hair sticking up a little. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes as he noticed the tension in the air.

“Hyungs? What’s going on?”

“Come sit next to me, Felix,” Chan encouraged, lifting an arm for Felix to slide under. The boy did so apprehensively.

Something was obviously up- something bad. Were they going to kick him out? Felix wondered idly.

“What’s up? What’s going on?”

Changbin bit his lip. “Your apartment was broken into… Chan literally just found out.”

Felix seemed frozen in shock, mouth slightly open as he stayed almost impossibly still. The spell seemed to break as he asked, “was anything stolen?”

“No. It was just destroyed a bit,” Jisung said, looking nervously at the boy who still hadn’t really shown any reaction. “We think it was the same people who attacked you.”

“Oh,” was all he said.

Chan kept rubbing his side comfortingly, trying to comfort him a little. “It’s okay to be upset. Honestly, it wasn’t as bad as you’re probably imagining, I could have cleaned it up, but I figured it’s better to have some proof to show. It’s definitely best if you stay at our dorms longer though, until we figure out who’s behind this, and how they got your address and stuff.”

Felix nodded- that made sense. He still felt numb to be honestly.

“They left a note, if you want to read it,” Changbin said nervously. None of them really knew how to react to Felix’s non-reaction- that couldn’t be good, right?

Felix knew he was worrying his hyungs, but he didn’t really know how to react, how to feel- he just felt a bit numb to be honest.

“No, it’s okay, I don’t want to read it. I’m not too upset to be honest- I didn’t have much stuff anyway, and like you said, it can be cleaned up easily enough.”

Felix shrugged and Chan held onto him tighter. His easy acceptance of it made him feel even worse- no way did a boy this forgiving deserve to go through this.

“Shall we watch some more Netflix?” Chan suggested tentatively, but Felix smiled and nodded a yes. Before Chan knew it, Jisung had brought over his laptop before sitting down at his computer. Changbin grabbed a drink and did the same.

3 hours later, the four if them had managed to squeeze onto the sofa, along with two others sharing an armchair they pulled next to it.

Felix had met two more friends, Hyunjin and Minho, who he was very happy to find out were passionate dancers like him.

Hyunjin was really pretty, and Minho was too, actually, and they seemed like complete opposites yet perfect complements at the same time. They didn’t ask too many questions, either, and they were both quite touchy feely, which he enjoyed. Hyunjin was sweet and kind and he giggled a lot, wile Minho was sassy and hilarious and had a way of making Felix unable to stop laughing.

He was also delighted to find out they both danced, like him.

“Wait, you dance!?” Felix had exclaimed, feeling like his eyes were about to pop out of his head. Hyunjin giggled.

“Yeah, we’re the main dancers,” he explained, twisting his fingers together cutely. “It’s really fun, we choreograph our own dances sometimes! Minho’s known for making ridiculously hard choreo so we don’t let him do it often. Sometimes, we like to dance just the two of us, 'cause we don’t have to worry about leaving everyone behind, and then we seriously go for it. We can go at our own pace, y’know?”

Felix nodded- he understood it could get frustrating having to slow down when you were in the groove.

“You, should join us, Lix,” Minho suggested from the other sofa, and before Felix could respond, Hyunjin had pounced on him, begging him to. And how could Felix say no to that?

He’d missed dancing anyway, and I was always better practising with someone else.

After that, Chan had expertly diverted the conversation by shoving bowls of popcorn in their arms, and bringing up Netflix. The boys all squeezed onto the couch, Felix cuddled up between the other two as Chan persuaded (read: forced) him to watch some new horror movie he’d heard about.

Needless to say, Felix did not enjoy the movie as he spent 50% of the movie alternating between hiding in Hyunjin’s soft sweater and Minho’s shoulder. He didn’t even care he was acting like a wimp when he looked up to see zombies everywhere.

Hyunjin didn’t complain though, and as Minho discreetly ran his fingers through his blonde locks, Felix wholeheartedly hoped he could see them everyday from now on.

Little did he know, maybe that wasn't so impossible...

............


	5. Chapter 5

...............

That night, Felix couldn’t sleep. He didn’t know why- he wasn’t really that scared by the horror movie or anything, he just felt kind of… lost. Lonely. He wanted comforting, but some part of him felt stupid for it. He wasn’t a child anymore he should be able to go to sleep on his own.

_ Just a little braver… _

He sighed and untangled himself from his blankets, walking to the kitchen area. His throat felt dry, and he wanted a glass of water. Maybe it would help him sleep.

Felix reached up, struggling to reach the glasses hidden on the top shelf by Jisung to annoy Changbin. His hands were shaking.

He took a deep breath in as he stretched just a little bit further, the tip of his finger pushing it away further. He strained on his tiptoes until he finally reached it, and yanked it towards him.

He watched in horror as the glass fell in slow motion, before crashing in the sink

Felix was still for a second, before his throat burned, and his eyes filled with tears and he started sobbing silently, slipping down the counter onto the floor. He didn’t know why he felt like this- he’d been fine all day, but when it got dark and he had nothing to distract him, doubt started creeping in. He felt useless, worse than useless- a burden. His lungs were burning with the effort of breathing in, but he refused to make a noise. He didn’t want to wake his hyungs, they needed their sleep.

At that very second, the door creaked open and shut again, and the lights turned on. Chan stood, looking very awake and very confused in the middle of the room, scanning the room frantically for Felix before his eyes fell on his sobbing form sat on the floor and his gaze softened.

“Oh, Felix…” he said, walking over to the boy and sitting next to him, rubbing his shoulders soothingly. “It’s okay, shhhh, you’re okay,” he whispered in English, but Felix just sobbed harder. Eventually, Chan pulled him into a hug, an they sat like that, giving and receiving comfort for a while until Felix’s sobs lessened.

“What’s wrong,” Chan asked, leaning back just enough to look at Felix’s red rimmed eyes. The affection Felix saw in Chan’s gaze almost made him start crying again.

“I don’t know, Chan,” he eventually ground out. “Everything’s just… hard at the moment, y’know. I’m homesick, and scared about the future, and it just feels like I’m back to square one, with nothing and nowhere to go. It’s just so scary…”

Felix trailed off and Chan smiled comfortingly, sympatheic and warm. “You’re not at square one, Lixie- you have me and Jisung and Changbinnie right here for you, plus Jeongin, Seungmin, Hyunjin and Minho all really liked you! Jeongin especially has been pestering to come over and talk to you since he left, y’know. And I can tell both Minho and Hyunjin are going to be attached to you like limpets from now on.”

Felix laughed, but even that kind of sounded like a sob.

“And as for the future,” Chan continued, “you’re staying here with us for as long as you want or need, and you’re taking time off to heal until Monday, when you can dance and sing again. And I promise those bullies won’t ever find you again.”

Felix nodded and took a shuddering breath in, burying his head in Chan’s neck. “Thank you,” he whispered. He knew Chan could hear. “I didn’t want to be a burden…”

“You’re never a burden,” Chan replied immediately, his voice still gentle but laced with a kind of definite hardness. “Always find me, yeah?”

Felix nodded and pulled away, wiping his eyes on his hands.

“Do you want to… sleep in my bed tonight? Cuddle?”

Felix looked up at Chan uncertainly, and Chan smiled, grabbing his hand. He pulled him up and guided him to the next room, turning off the light in the living room as he did so. He heard Felix pull back the covers and climb in, settling against the wall, and Chan did the same, slipping his body against him. He felt Felix lean his head back, against his chest, his heart, and sigh gently, his eyes slipping shut and a few minutes later, his breaths slowing. He had fallen asleep.

Chan smiled down at the younger, barely visible in the dark, and shut his eyes himself, wishing the younger sweet dreams.

What was it he sometimes heard Felix mutter? Just a little braver… Chan was glad they’d found the bravery to invite Felix closer into their lives. He deserved this.

……………

Chan strode back from JYP’s office, feeling as light as a feather. Everything had gone perfectly, the time they’d spent perfecting their paperwork had been well spent. Chan still couldn’t believe it really, pinching himself lightly to check this wasn’t a dream.

JYP had agreed that Felix would join their practises on Monday and train with them until at least the termly assessment in a month, where he would make a final decision.

Chan honestly felt like all of his worries had disappeared.

It was Friday now, and Felix had officially met and go along swimmingly with, every member of Stray Kids. He even planned to meet up with Hyunjin and Minho and dance, which he had understood went amazing. None of the three boys would shut up about how talented the other two were, and Chan had had to hear the same stories three times over, pretending he hadn’t heard the exact same thing twice already. Seriously, if he heard one more comment about Hyunjin’s abs, he would lose it.

From what he understood from Hyunjin, though, Felix would have no problem keeping up with their choreography, which certainly made Chan feel a whole lot better about their deadline. This meant they only had to work on Korean language skills- which honestly, was going really well so far!

They could do this. It was reasonable.

Chan was now looking forward to the fun bit- getting to tell everyone that Felix was officially joining their line-up. Jisung would be especially happy, having gotten very close to his new twin in the week of being roommates, and Jeongin, Hyunjin and Minho, all of who wouldn’t shut up about their newest addition, would be over the moon. Even Seungmin, who met him very briefly, had said they wished they weren’t busy so they could talk to him more.

Chan smiled, pressing in the passcode to their dorm-room and stepping in quietly. Felix wasn’t in the living room, which meant he was probably still asleep, as Chan had hoped. He’d kept him up late playing video games just for this reason.

Chan grabbed Jisung and Changbin and pulled them into the kitchen area, their headphones toppling onto their desks as they had no choice but to follow.

“What was that for, man?” Jisung whined, rubbing his arm where Chan had grabbed it. Chan just grinned madly.

“He got in! He got in, he got in, he got in!” Chan spun Jisung round, who was staring with dawning glee as his brain caught up. “Felix is officially allowed to train with us until at least next month’s assessment.” He whispered, grinning like a maniac. Changbin pumped the air silently, while Jisung jumped up and down in excitement.

“I’m guessing by the whispering you haven’t told him yet,” Changbin asked, smiling widely. Chan shook his head, and both other boys squealed quietly.

“Oh, my god, he’s gonna be over the moon,” Jisung whispered excitedly.

“I hope so- it’d be embarrassing if he didn’t want to now...”

Changbin shook his head. “Nah, he’ll definitely want to. Why wouldn’t he?” Jisung smacked his arm as Changbin smiled cockily. “Just saying!”

“How should I tell him? I wanna do something special… I thought maybe we could just take him out for dinner or something, or even order a takeout if he’s too tired... Or do you think I should do something more?”

Jisung thought for a moment, then shook his head. “no… that’s perfect. Enough to make the evening special without being suspicious or pressuring the boy. I say we go out to eat at that nice Chinese place you like, Chan.”

Changbin nodded his assent, trusting Felix’s honorary twin, and just like that, their plan was formed. Changbin called up to reserve a table, Jisung went back to finishing what he and Changbin had been working on so they’d be free later, though he was noticeably distracted, bouncing up and down in his seat. Chan just sat down and started planning his speech, trying to imagine Felix’s face. He couldn’t wait to tell the others, either… or maybe he could be mean and announce it on Monday, at their first dance practise as nine…

Chan simply couldn’t wait.

The next few hours passed in a haze- Felix woke up well after lunchtime and immediately started studying Korean, rather than gaming as Chan had bet. He was really proud of the younger- his Korean had come leaps and bounds, and he could understand most of what was said around him without any help, sometimes messing up a tricky verb, but rarely.

This morning, though, he couldn’t help but wish he was a little less dedicated, for once. He silently slid Changbin 10,000 won in the kitchen.

“I’m never betting with you ever again,” he muttered sullenly, but even that wasn’t enough to dampen his mood.

“He studies after waking up every morning dude, it’s your fault for being unobservant.”

Chan mumbled something unsavoury in English, not really meaning it but relishing in both Jisung’s and Changbin’s giggles.

Eventually, it reached five o’clock, and it was go-time.

“Hey, Felix,” Jisung called from the kitchen, striving to sound casual as he was studying the fridge intently. “Do you want to go out for dinner? We’ve got nothing in the fridge, and I’m craving Chinese food. There’s a great place just down the road.”

Felix barely needed any persuading, putting his controller down carefully and heading into the kitchen. “I’d love to,” he said, leaning against the doorframe, “but I might have to get dressed, give me at least half an hour. I’m assuming hyungs will want to eat too, so you might want to tell them as well.”

Jisung nodded agreeably, shutting the genuinely empty fridge. They had never been so grateful for their bad shopping habits before- they had a readymade excuse to eat out on a whim.

“We’ll aim to be there for about six,” Jisung decided. “that should give everyone enough time to get ready. Did you hear that, Chan,” he called into the living room. “Changbin?”

Both yelled back a reply, and hid grins as Felix skipped back to get changed out of his PJs and probably have a shower. It had really, actually worked- and Felix hadn’t suspected a thing! Their plan was working like clockwork!

“Jisung, I’m scared and impressed. You’re an incredible actor! That was perfect!” Chan whispered after the door had shut, leaning over to high five the younger.

“I would be a great male lead, I agree, but unfortunately for the Kdrama industry, my heart lies within music.”

Changbin grinned. “Your amazing inborn talent will be greatly missed,” he cried overdramatically before collapsing into giggles. They were all a little happy drunk on excitement, for the evening and the future.

One hour later, all four of them were ready to leave, and Felix looked so happy just to be going out with them that Chan internally promised himself to treat the younger more, no matter how much his bank balance whined. It was cute, how he bounced up and down on the balls of his feet, eyes crinkling and making the fairy dots dusting his cheeks ripple upwards.

“Back home, we used to get Chinese about once every two or three months, usually on special occasions or when family’s round. I haven’t had any since I came to Korea, actually…”

“It’ll be extra special then,” Jisung grinned as he pulled Felix out of the door and kept up happy conversation all the way to the restaurant, Chan and Changbin happily following behind silently, listening to their fun and teasing banter.

“Table for four, Seo Changbin,” Changbin said quietly to a waitress who came over to seat them. Chan’s breath hitched, waiting for Felix to call them out for their not-so spontaneous outing, when he noticed Jisung had sneakily distracted the boy. He threw a wink Chan’s way. All three of them were committed to making this perfect and making sure Felix didn’t see it coming at all.

The plan was going perfectly.

In fact, it went perfectly for the whole night.

They ordered drinks and food quickly, and all four of them kept the conversation flowing smoothly, even as Jisung randomly yelped as Changbin kept kicking him for being too hyperactive and jumpy. It couldn’t be helped, but it was funny watching Jisung bounce up and down, only to be kicked and turn it down a notch for barely a minute before returning to exactly how it was before. It just seemed to hype Felix up and make him more excitable too, and Chan couldn’t help but be in awe of their bond. It was like they fed off one another, an endless loop of energy and excitement. Chan started picking it up himself actually, and Changbin too started to get a little louder and bubblier. Maybe it was the excitement, Chan wondered, or maybe it was just Felix being here.

After they had devoured two plates of starters, the conversation naturally died down, and Chan took a moment to surreptitiously make eye contact with the other two. It was time to start the plan.

Chan cleared his throat. “Actually, there was an ulterior motive to going out to dinner tonight, Felix,” he started, grinning at Felix’s surprised and slightly nervous look. “It’s a good thing, I promise.”

“What is it?” He asked, eyes sparkling. Everyone at the table started grinning harder, barely remembering to breathe.

“Well, you know how you didn’t like your dance group, but it was the only one who’s criteria you fit?” Jisung asked, and Felix nodded. “Well, we found a solution.”

“What?” Felix laughed, surprised.

Chan continued. “Yeah, we’ve spoken to the necessary management and your instructor, it’s all ready to go, as long as you accept.”

“Accept what?” Felix was practically hanging off the end of his seat with anticipation.

“We want you to join our training,” Chan said gently, looking into Felix’s eyes. If anything, he just looked more confused.

“…hang on, you guys want me to join Stray Kids’ dance training? …Why?”

“Because you’re an amazing dancer, a brilliant singer and an even better rapper. More than that, you’re our friend, too.” Jisung explained patiently, innocently grabbing one of Felix’s hands.

Felix was silent as he processed for a few more seconds, looking like the human embodiment of an error sign.

“Felix, you idiot,” Changbin finally exploded fondly, “they’re inviting you to join Stray Kids. As in, be a member of the band. All of it”

Chan felt nervous now- there was no going back. “This would mean you could join our dance, vocal and rap training sessions, away from the other trainees, and you could join our dorm or even the other guys’ dorms if you wanted to, officially. Of course, you don’t have to do all of that, I’m sure JYP could be flexible if that’s not what you wanted, and you can decline altogether if you want, none of us will think any different of you-,” he rambled.

“Yes,” Felix blurted as Chan paused for breath, now fully stopped in his tracks and grinning. “Are you kidding me, that’s like my dream, oh my god-“

Jisung squealed and shook his hand up and down, and Felix started to do the same, his eyes turning moist out of pure happiness.

“You’re a Stray Kid!” Jisung exclaimed excitedly. Felix giggled.

“I’m actually a Stray Kid, oh my god,” and the pair hugged. Felix backed away and turned to Chan and Changbin on the other side of the table. “Oh my god, guys, I’m actually so happy, thank you!”

“Don’t thank me,” Changbin said, grinning at the youngest. His happiness was infectious. “It was Chan who did all the hard work, filling out paperwork and placating JYP, me and Jisung just pestered him about it and got to reap the rewards.”

Jisung nodded in agreement, and Chan blushed bright red.

“You did paperwork for me?” Felix asked before Chan could stutter out a word. His mouth was slightly agape and his eyes even shinier with a film of tears as he stared at the eldest like he hung up the moon. “Hyung, thank you so much… I don’t know how I could ever repay you.”

Chan reached over and ruffled Felix’s hair. “I’d do it all over again for you, Lixie.” Felix gave him the biggest smile ever before reaching to wipe his eyes as Jisung cooed a bit.

“Shut up,” he mumbled happily. “Have you told the others yet?” He asked suddenly.

“We wanted to ask you first,” Changbin replied, “so no, but I promise all of them will be so happy. Minho and Hyunjin haven’t stopped asking when they can drag you dancing next, so they’ll be over the moon, and Jeongin seems to think you’re the best thing since sliced toast. Even Seungmin asked after you, too, and he's usually a grump- he hasn't asked to hang with me in months," Changbin huffed, "so honestly, you’ve wormed your way into all of our hearts, Lixie!”

Felix grinned. “Wow, I can’t wait to tell them!”

“I was just planning on giving you a dramatic entrance to our dance practise on Monday,” Chan cut in, “but if you have any better ideas, I’m all ears.”

“…No, that sounds perfect,” Felix contemplated, still glowing with happiness.

Changbin and Jisung quickly agreed.

“Ah, it still hasn’t sunk in yet,” Felix giggled, but the conversation was diverted as the food arrived, luckily right on time.

For the whole evening, all four of them were happy and excited for the future, until they collapsed in their beds at the end of the day, fully exhausted.

...............

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Please leave me a comment if you enjoyed it, or if you didn't, feel free to leave me some constructive criticisms! I really love hearing from all of you, it makes my day.  
-Ech0


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey!  
This is the last chapter- I hope you enjoy it!  


The weekend was spent in an excited haze of dance practises and vocal training, as Felix pushed himself to be the best he could be for Stray Kids’ practise on Monday. 3Racha weren’t exactly happy about that, but they also knew he was fully healed by now and couldn’t help but see how happy Felix was, so they didn’t intervene as long as Felix stuck to reasonable schedules and ate plenty, which he did begrudgingly. He knew it was for the best, anyway.

Monday came around quickly, and Felix was nearly bouncing off the walls, a mixture of excitement and nerves bubbling through his veins and setting his muscles alight. He wanted to dance, to sing, to run around Han river for hours. He wouldn't have been surprised if it turned out someone had spiked his coffee with red bull.

He had just finished his breakfast when the dormroom door opened, revealing an excited looking Hyunjin with Jisung, who winked at Felix as he shut the door behind them.

“Felix!” Hyunjin cried, running forward. “Jisung said you could come and watch our dance practise if you want…? Maybe we could teach you some too!”

Felix smiled widely. Jisung was a sneaky genius. He’d have to explain the workout clothes though… “Hey, I was about to go to the gym, but I’d way rather to come dance with you lot! That would be awesome!” Felix replied quickly, hiding his expression by turning to put his bowl in the sink.

“Great, let’s go then!” Hyunjin pulled Felix’s arm impatiently towards the door.

They arrived at the dance studio about ten minutes early, giggling and excited. Hyunjin still had no idea what was going on, and thanks to Jisung, they had a readymade excuse for Felix to be there without giving away anything. It was perfect! Felix couldn’t quite believe he was here.

The moment was broken as Chan and Minho walked in, in deep conversation about.. something or other. Felix was so nervous he didn’t really care. It was a few seconds before Minho looked up finally, and another few seconds before he realised Felix wasn’t meant to be there and stopped in place comically, right in front of the door… which opened again as the rest of the band filed in, starting with Jeongin.

Jeongin was the first to recover. “Hyung!” He called, running towards Felix. Chan, Seungmin and Changbin all stepped forward to help Minho up, who had been pushed over by the door.

Jisung was near tears laughing at the scene, but Hyunjin had recovered enough to say “I see you’ve noticed Felix is here to watch us today.”

Chan grinned and winked surreptitiously at Felix. “Today’s an informal practise session, so we’ll mostly be going over old choreography and nit picking. Seeing as you’re here, though, do you want to join in?”

“Oh, you have to,” Minho agreed quickly. “The choreo we do with this lot is way easier than what the three of us do, and I can just _tell _it'll fit your usual style perfectly," he blurted out.

A few of the members around the room spluttered, but Felix just grinned. “Alright, hyung, but! If I end up in the wrong spot or fail totally, you can’t laugh at me.”

The whole group cheered, but as Felix got into place, he felt his heart beating harder and harder and his palms felt sweaty. Jisung was just one spot left of him though, and he gave him a huge grin as the intro played. “You’ve got this!” He mouthed, and not a second later the energetic choreography began.

Felix couldn’t help but grin. He knew this song inside and out, and it was one he loved dancing to because of it’s powerful and intricate choreography. He’d got this. Every limb sliced through the air with perfect precision, his feet pounding on the floor in time with his heart, the beat, and the other members. He’d never felt so… connected, before. Even trying to find his space to stand and how to get there wasn’t too hard, as Jisung and Chan both helped him on that front, pointing towards the space he could fill as they transitioned through moves. It wasn’t a perfect science by any means, but he got more and more confident as the song went on, and as the last beats of the music filtered from the studio, Felix heard nothing but screaming as a few bodies surrounded him and lifted him in the air.

Felix didn’t think he’d ever smiled wider.

“Felix! That was amazing!” Seungmin was yelling, and Jeongin was laughing and whooping his way around the studio.

“Seriously,” Changbin said, “I think you know our choreography better than we do!”

Felix felt himself turn bright red with the praise, clinging onto Hyunjin, who still hadn’t put him down. “No, I just used to practise that one a lot!” He refuted.

“Well, it paid off,” Felix turned around to see Chan grinning behind him. “Is everyone ready for the next one?”

“Yeah!” "Yup!" They chorused.

They danced and danced, and everytime someone gave Felix a compliment or a high five or lifted him up in the air, and Felix had never felt so embarrassed and proud at the same time. He was sure his freckles were sticking out over a hot red blush. They were reaching the end of the session though, and as Felix was working his way through a water bottle and an apple, Seungmin whined “Why can’t Felix dance with us always!”

Felix looked over to see both Jisung and Chan looking at him, and Changbin was grinning and nodding encouragingly from behind everyone. Felix smiled widely and nodded at Chan, gesturing for him to start.

“Well, actually, we kind of had an ulterior motive for today.” Chan grinned.

Everyone’s heads shot up.

“What do you mean?” Jeongin asked, his eyes lighting up.

Hyunjin’s mouth was open and he was staring at Chan like he’d hung up the moon. “You don’t mean…”

“Felix is officially joining us!” Jisung yelled, obviously unable to take the tension anymore, and immediately there as a bunch of people crowding him as hands ruffled his hair and people jumped with excitement. Minho and Hyunjin were having their own weird celebration, holding hands and jumping up and down yelling “We get to keep him! We get to keep him!”

It was one of the best feeling’s Felix thought he’d ever had. Years and months of work, all leading up to this… and he thought every second was worth it.

He was finally where he belonged.

If he had his members around him, he didn’t need to be brave anymore. He could face any challenge- including debuting.

...........

From then on, life for Felix is somehow the same and completely different for Felix.

He still dorms with 3RACHA, despite not producing with them, simply because all three of them had protested loudly when the other members tried to drag him to the main dorm. “He’s our inspiration!” Changbin had whined, and Felix pretended he hadn’t heard and his face wasn’t bright red.

He still danced and sang and met up with his managers and had weight checks, but know he did all of that with a team of eight people beside him, and it made such a difference. Felix swore he was the luckiest man alive to have ended up where he did.

Other people hadn’t been so lucky. Namely the people who bullied him.

Honestly, it was a few weeks before Felix even thought about them, so wrapped up in adjusting to his amazing new life. When he did finally ask, Chan looked surprised. “The three who attacked you were thrown out of the company, and I believe investigations are still going on within the rest of that class, the teacher and the system they use for the trainees.”

Felix’s eyebrows flew into his hair. “All that, over me?”

Chan ruffled his hair. “Well, it’s not entirely about you. It’s about the bullies learning that they can’t bully trainees and get away with it. Besides, it brought up lots of flaws in their system, like how there’s only one dance class and there isn’t enough support to help foreign trainees assimilate other than learning the language.”

Felix looked impressed and surprised at the same time.

“Why are you thinking of them anyway? You’re here now, they’re not. You don’t need to worry about them anymore.”

“I wasn’t hyung!” Felix quickly rebuffed. “It just feels like so long ago… so much has changed, I didn’t even spare a thought that they might be bullying other trainees or something. I’m glad they can’t anymore, although I feel a bit bad for ruining their careers..”

Chan was quick to shut him down. “No, Felix, they ruined their own careers. The moment they started singling you out, the other trainees marked them as bullies, and that kind of reputation would have carried through to their debut, and there’d be a scandal or they’d get kicked out anyway. In this industry, secrets involving other people aren’t secrets for long.”

Felix nodded slowly. It made sense….

“Come on,” Jisung interrupted, whining and poking his head around the door. “We’re going to be late to dance practise, and Changbin’s threatening to leave without us.”

Felix laughed and Chan slapped his thigh, wiggling out from under it as the four of them made their way to training.

..............

It isn’t long before they debut, and Felix swears he has never felt happier. Even with the busier schedules and stricter rules, the love he receives from online is more than enough to lift his spirits even thinking about it. Honestly, everything felt magical and dreamlike, but Felix didn’t need to pinch himself to tell this was reality. The slight pull of his warm muscles, the adrenaline running through his veins from dancing and light-headedness from laughter and singing was enough to prove this was real life. Even if it was a dream, he’d be happy as long as he never woke up.

He’d never forget their first live performance, either. Beforehand, Felix had been beside himself, pacing and overthinking and generally working himself up over nothing. Felix was the member with the least amount of training and time spent in the group, and he was convinced he’d mess up the group somehow, show them up. It didn’t matter how much his members reassured him, the doubts were always there in his head, getting louder and louder the closer to the date it got.

He was extremely excited too, though, and the feeling was somehow the exact same and opposite at the same time. It made no sense, but if Felix stood still and closed his eyes, he could hear the crowd and smell the anticipation in the air and happy bubbles of excitement made their way through his blood and up his arms. Every hair stood to attention.

“Are you okay, Felix?” Jisung asked from beside him, and Felix opened his eyes to see Jisung staring concernedly at him. Felix just smiled widely.

“Never better, Sungie. I’m excited!”

Jisung grinned in response, their excitement and happiness acting as a catalyst to the other’s. “Good, because we’re due onstage in about five minutes.”

Just as he said that, some kind of manager poked his head around the door and called out “Four minutes!” The team said “thank you, four” in unison as they usually did, but rather than bored or tired, as they usually sounded, they were the opposite- they were tense as a wired, fired up and ready to go.

Jisung grabbed Felix’s hand. “We got this, okay? Together.”

“Together,” Felix repeated, squeezing lightly.

They stood like this for what felt like an eternity and only a few seconds before they were quietly ushered down corridor after corridor, the crowd’s screams getting louder and clearer and Felix’s nerves getting higher and higher, his numbs feeling numb, until.

They stepped onto the stage.

And Felix forgot everything.

He forgot his fear. He forgot his doubts, his insecurities. He forgot everything leading up to getting here and drunk in the feeling of being here, every second feeling precious before it slipped away. Felix waved his arms and laughed and smiled as big as he could, before the group congregated, and their show began.

And Felix was finally free.

Who needed bravery when they had Stray Kids, and Stay, and dancing.

Felix thought he’d never need to feel brave again, just as long as he could remember this moment.

.................

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! This is the end- no more chapters left to post...  
I'm sad and excited at the same time...  
Thank you for all of your support- I know this kind of sucks, but I was tired of leaving my work hiding in Google docs only to get deleted a few months later when I inevitably decide it isn't good enough to post, and I just wanted to finally post something and get it over with. Hopefully you guys can watch as I improve and get better!  
Thank you again for reading, I really appreciate all of you <3


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